Return bridge or bridge and Directstream?

The ticks and pops happen with both DSD and non DSD files. I’ve listened extensively and tested the bridge with both and am confident of this. Changing the volume doesn’t make them go away, nor do some Roon adjustments recommended on this board. They remind me of listening to scratched vinyl, something I’m not willing to put up with.

Get an RMA and a shipping label and return it for another one.

If you’re talking about the bridge, been there and done that.

No. What I’m talking about you don’t seem to be reading. Very clearly, I said return both.

That is odd for ticks and pops with non DSD, mine doesn’t make noises on non-DSD stuff with the DAC all the way up. I am super picky too, so I understand your concern. If the new bridge doesn’t solve it with non DSD then I would probably continue to contact support and see if changing out the DAC is the answer. I still think you will hear the random tick or pop with DSD files and the bridge, though maybe it’s just me.

@brownsf I see no reason to send them both back at this point. You have clearly stated that the noise artifacts occur only when utilizing the Bridge II as the connection mechanism. You have already received a replacement for the Bridge II which did nothing to resolve the behavior.

You have two options:

  1. Return the Bridge for a refund and utilize one of many connections options available on the DS DAC and likely experience a SQ improvement.
  2. As others have suggested, experiment with other streaming sources (MConnect or BubbleUP UPnP are free) to the Bridge to rule out the Zenith (to the Bridge II) as the cause. Either of these control app can be loaded on an Android or iOS device.

Without knowing the answer to #2, it will be difficult to narrow down the root cause. Of course this only matters if keeping the Bridge II and resolving the issue, is your priority.

With your rap sheet on this “forum”. You better tone it down. That can be construed as an act of sedition.

If others go to the effort to write something, I go to the effort of reading all that they write. Sometimes I might miss something, so I tend to read everything twice.

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Hi, I use a Melco server into the DS Sr and control it with MConnect/McontrolHD. I was using Bridge 2 until recently and it always had a few pops/clicks on DSD files (which I thought was a known problem). But when I upgraded to latest firmware on Bridge I seemed to get more of them and not only on DSD. I haven’t got a PC (only a mac) so couldn’t go back to previous firmware.

Ended up selling the Bridge and buying the Matrix - everything since then has been rock solid, no glitches, great sounding, just the faintest click at the start of DSD playback which is too faint to bother me. Still using mconnect for what it’s worth, I’m one of the few folks who’s happy with it…

So I’m in the camp of returning the Bridge, keeping the DAC and buying a Matrix. Don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Regards, Mike.

As one of the (large?) majority of bridge II users who have had no problems whatsoever for a number of years, could I suggest that you look carefully at your local ethernet connectivity? Perhaps you could see what happens if you cut it down to the bare minimum e.g. modem>router>Bridge II/DAC: can you then stream without any clicks or pops?

I know my issues weren’t related to my network as I was playing files direct from the Melco server to the DS via a 1m reasonably high quality Ethernet cable.

It seems to me that you have not isolated the source of the problem…at least not in so far as a PS Audio culprit. If it were me, I would return the DAC and the Bridge for new, replacement units. Then I would hook them up and play them as designed, without a separate piece of kit that performs the same function as the Bridge to see if the problem persists. If it does not, then you know your issue is not a DAC/Bridge issue. You can make an informed decision from that point. FWIW, It has been my observation that “computer” based audio signals are not handled in a standard manner among manufacturers, so mixing different manufacture’s kit together in a complex signal chain is a bit of a crap shoot. One point for you to consider: I believe you would be hard pressed to better the performance of the DS Sr. DAC at its price point with another manufacturer’s DAC. I hope you get sorted, soonest.

I was in the same boat in deciding whether the final MQA unfold was worth the cost of the Bridge. For me I never even opened my Bridge package, I was so happy with the USB performance that I really didn’t have to think twice-I am in a situation where my computer is next to the DSD Sr though.

The industry consensus on MQA is non-existent. I personally am aligned with Benchmark’s take on the situation. I prefer to use Qobuz although their interface/app needs significant upgrading.

Cheers,

Tony

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As Tony has stated, the USB input on the DS DAC performs excellently. May be worth while connecting the Zenith - which based on the product description goes to lengths to ensure the output quality of the USB is superb - to the DS USB input for evaluation.

I’m going to have to agree with what some others have said here. The problem is highly unlikely to be with the bridge if a replacement doesn’t solve the issue (although there is the small possibility that you got two faulty bridges).

That suggests that there is something wrong with the DAC itself - just because it functions fine on other inputs doesn’t mean anything, it could be a problem with the Bridge interface part.

Send both back and ask for a new DAC with a new bridge that have both been tested and confirmed by PSA not to have any clicks or pops when they use them.

I think it is worth trying if you really like the DAC. - This is purely anecdotal since it is a sample size of one, but I have never had any such problems with my DS/Bridge2 combo at all despite having a highly resolving system. So it is possible to have both in your system without these issues.

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Thanks to all for the advice on ticks and pops with the Bridge and for putting up with my newbieness.

As suggested I tried the bridge using mcontrolHD. So far no pops or ticks. Still listening. The pops and ticks occur on dsd and non dsd recordings using Roon with the bridge input and my Innuous Zenith as the Roon core. I’m not sure what to make of this. Since the problem doesn’t occur using the Bridge with McontrolHD, does that mean the Bridge is OK and not the source? Sine there’s no problem with the DS using the USB input or using the Bridge input with McontrolHD, does this rule out the DS as the source? Is there some kind of interaction between Roon and the Bridge? Does my Innuous Zenith 3 have anything to do with the problem?

I’m stumped but will consult PS Audio tech support next week. Right now, I’m leaning towards returning the Bridge, ordering the Matrix and using USB which, as others have said, sounds pretty great.

If the Bridge works fine with it’s designated software and the USB works fine with the Innuous then there is something going on with the combined interaction between Roon and the Bridge with the Innuous in the path. So to answer your base question both the DS and the Bridge appear to be fine. You might want to also reach out to the guys at Innuous as the Roon people will just blame it on everything else in the chain.

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That is even more weird. If it were a hardware issue then it should occur with MControl too. Might be worth checking Roon audio settings to see if something is off there. Settings>Audio>Roon Ready - Scroll down to your DAC in the Roon Ready section and click the gears next to it on the right (or just right click the DAC icon in the bottom right of the Roon window and choose setup). It is worth making sure everything there is on the defaults (including Fixed Volume if you use a preamp). These are my settings:

04

13

Also check the DSP settings by right clicking on your PS Audio DAC when it is selected as the playback device in the bottom right of the Roon window and selecting DSP. The default is to have Headroom Management and Sample Rate Conversion disabled and all the filters disabled:

I am just happy you weren’t haste in sending the DirectSteam DAC and Bridge II back and instead decided to do some proper troubleshooting. It does in fact appear that your PS Audio hardware is just fine and something else in the chain is causing this issue for you.

@dawkinsj has some good advice as well as @drarifakhtar (damn, you don’t make it easy on us with that user name!) with the Roon settings vetting.

I am certain with some additional troubleshooting, limiting each change to one variable at a time, you will figure out the root cause. Good luck!

That all being said, I still feel strongly about using a Matrix to convert the USB to i2S in lieu of the Bridge II for superior SQ. But this is aside form solving the problem you have solicited assistance for on this thread. I mention it because it is worth noting.

It may be your set up in Roon. I doubt it is the computer hardware you’re using to run Roon. The fact that MControl app works well suggests it’s probably related to Roon and that setup could solve the problem though I am no Roon expert. They have many setup
options and it can get a bit confusing.